Russian fury at UK as TV station’s bank account shut
A DIPLOMATIC row broke out yesterday as NatWest told a Russian TV station it would shut its UK bank accounts.
Russia accused Britain of political censorship after it emerged the bank had told the Kremlinbacked broadcaster RT that its accounts were to be closed.
Downing Street said the decision – which will make it harder for RT to operate in Britain – had nothing to do with the Government.
But the Russian Embassy in London issued an extraordinary statement blaming the Government and branding the decision ‘an outrage’.
The statement said: ‘It makes it abundantly clear that this ham-fistedness is all HM Government can say in support of its position on the international issues where we differ.’
One Moscow-based politician even called for the BBC’s bank accounts in Russia to be ‘arrested’ as a reprisal.
RT – previously known as Russia Today – has been accused of being a mouthpiece for Russian president Vladimir Putin.
When asked if the Government was happy to see a propaganda outfit such as RT curbed, Theresa May’s spokesman said: ‘More broadly, do we want to make sure that misinformation is not being spread? Of course we do.’
NatWest had written to the station, saying its arrangements had been reviewed and the bank ‘reached the conclusion that we will no longer provide these facilities’. It said RT’s accounts would close in December.
A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in London said that Russian news outlets Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik and VGTRK also had their accounts frozen or closed. ‘We are concerned over the said decision and the pressure exercised against Russian news outlets in UK,’ he added.
RT is primarily aimed at audiences in Europe and the US, broadcasting in English, Arabic and Spanish.
But it has come under fire for its one-sided reporting, including its failure to show the presence of Russian soldiers deployed on the Crimea when the peninsula was annexed.
It has also portrayed Russia’s involvement in Syria as an attempt to purge the country of terrorists and glossed over the deaths of civilians caused by Russia’s bombardment of Aleppo.
Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief, announced the decision on Twitter, saying: ‘They’ve closed our accounts in Britain. All our accounts. “The decision is not subject to review.” Praise be to freedom of speech!’
A spokesman for RBS, NatWest’s parent company, said: ‘These decisions are not taken lightly. We are reviewing the situation and are contacting the customer to discuss this further. The bank accounts remain open and are still operative.’
‘Praise be to freedom of speech’